Press Releases
Frost & Sullivan Recognizes 1-800-FREE411 with Leadership Award for Disrupting the $7 Billion Directory Assistance Market Jingle Networks Receives 2006 Award for Growth Strategy Leadership in the Rapidly Evolving North American Directory Assistance Market
January 08, 2007 – Menlo Park, Calif.
Jingle Networks, Inc.,
operator of the 1-800-FREE411 directory assistance service,
today announced that it has been presented with the Frost & Sullivan 2006 Award for Growth Strategy Leadership
in the North American Directory Assistance (DA) Market. This award is given each year to the company that has
bolstered its position within an industry and demonstrated an exceptional growth strategy that will have a
lasting impact on the market.
“Jingle is recognized for its work in spearheading a transformation in the DA market, where revenue opportunities are shifting from traditional mediums to new channels and business models,” said Piyush Arora, industry analyst with Frost & Sullivan’s North American Information & Communication Technologies Practice. “If the early signs of Jingle Networks’ success are an indication of what lies ahead, the company’s future is extremely promising, and the DA market will be going through tremendous change in the years ahead.”
1-800-FREE411 was created for consumers who were frustrated with the steadily increasing costs of traditional 411 services, which have gradually risen in cost over the years and generally average nearly $1.50 per call. The service provides the same quality of service as paid DA offerings but for free, while engaging callers with brief marketing offers while their requested listing is retrieved. Since launching in September 2005, the service has processed more than 127 million calls. 1-800-FREE411 currently processes about 600,000 calls per day, reaching on average more than four million consumers through nearly 16 million calls every month, accounting for approximately 3% of all U.S. DA calls.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation and strategic product development. The Award is based on extensive research in which industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
“Jingle’s eruption in the last 12 months is based on its seasoned management team, impressive investor backing from top financial, telecom and media institutions, extensive technology and marketing partnerships and strategic alliances, as well as the growing availability and consumer awareness of ad-supported business models for DA,” added Arora. “Jingle receives this recognition for being a pioneer and leader in not only the emerging toll-free DA market, but the rapidly transforming North American DA industry as a whole.”
“1-800-FREE411 provides not only a money-saving service for consumers on a daily basis, but also presents tremendous new revenue opportunities for companies who leverage 1-800-FREE411 as a unique, highly-targeted advertising medium,” said George Garrick, president and CEO of Jingle Networks. “The recent entrance of brand name telecom providers into the free DA space illustrates that our free 411 model has had a disruptive impact on and represents the next big thing in the telecom industry. We are honored to receive this award and expect even greater success as we continue to transform the market in 2007.”
In addition to passing the 127 million call mark and signing on more than 500 companies as advertisers, Jingle recently closed a Series C financing round of $30 million led by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Hearst Corporation. This brings total capitalization to over $60M and further solidifies the company’s position at the forefront of the free DA market.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of
innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company’s industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth
partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves
an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing
comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets,
technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.
About Jingle Networks & 1-800-FREE411Jingle Networks, operator of the nation’s leading ad-supported directory assistance service 1-800-FREE411, has significantly changed the directory assistance market by giving consumers an anytime, anywhere source of free information on the phone. 1-800-FREE411 is for anyone who owns a phone and needs information but is dissatisfied with the high cost of directory assistance. Jingle Networks has changed the industry by creating an exciting new media channel through 1-800-FREE411. With nearly 130 million annual calls, 1-800-FREE411 offers advertisers highly targeted and timely promotional opportunities to reach a large but targeted customer base who are ready-to-buy, garnering a response rate twice that of other direct response media. For more information, visit: www.free411.com.
For Media Inquiries
Deann Mayeda
415-591-8404
dmayeda@shiftcomm.com
